Nudging and habit change for open defecation : new tactics from behavioral science (WSP/World Bank Working Paper 2016)

April 17, 2016

Open defecation (OD) remains a critical global health challenge, afecting almost 1 billion people around the world and contributing signifcantly to the estimated 842,000 people who die each year because of poor sanitation, hygiene practices, and unsafe water supplies (WHO, 2014).

Using the framework popularized by Kahneman (2011), these factors can be described as “System 2” drivers of behavior (i.e., relatively conscious and motivational factors). It is now well established, however, that human behavior can also be heavily influenced by “System 1” drivers (i.e. relatively automatic, cue-driven drivers; Marteau et al., 2012; Wood & Neal, 2015). System 1 factors of particular relevance to OD include people’s hygiene habits (e.g., mindlessly repeated behaviors cued by context) and “nudges” (i.e., small changes to the environment that can channel decision making and behavior in new ways, Thaler & Sunstein, 2008). This working paper draws on basic scientific findings from psychology, cognitive science, and behavioral economics to propose a framework of 8 System 1 Principles to support the initiation and maintenance of OD behavior change.